You could set your clock to Intel's mobile platform roadmap.
For the last three years, the company announced its new processor
lineup in January, followed by a chipset and processor refresh in
June. June is always a critical month for notebook
manufacturers, as the impending school semester spurs the largest
volume orders on the year.

This year Intel announced its first generation 45 nanometer desktop,
mobile and server processors. New roadmaps issued
to notebook partners claim the company will replace its Santa
Rosa Centrino platform with the Montevina Centrino
2 platform this June.

The June refresh includes new Penryn-based
processors
boasting a
1066MHz front-side bus and new motherboard core logic. Together, the
chips will form the Montevina Centrino 2 and
Centrino 2 vPro
platforms.

On the processor front, Intel will
launch a slew of dual
core processors covering a wide range of market segments.

Penryn Core 2 Duo
(Performance)

Model

Core
Frequency

TDP

FSB
(MHz)

L2 Cache

Launch
Price

T9600

2.80
GHz

35W

1066

6MB

$530

T9400

2.53
GHz

35W

1066

6MB

$316

P9500

2.53
GHz

25W

1066

6MB

$348

P8600

2.40
GHz

25W

1066

3MB

$241

P8400

2.26
GHz

25W

1066

3MB

$209

The Txxx processors are labeled as
"Performance" parts and feature a
TDP of 35W. The Pxxx parts are labeled "Power Optimized Performance"
and feature a lower TDP of 25W. The P9500 strikes a fine balance
between the
two market segments by retaining a 2.53GHz core clock and 6MB of L2
cache while
still managing a TDP of 25W.

Penryn Core 2 (Small Form Factor)

Model

Core
Frequency

TDP

FSB
(MHz)

L2 Cache

LaunchPrice

SP9400

2.4
GHz

25W

1066

6MB

$316

SP9300

2.26
GHz

25W

1066

6MB

$284

SL9400

1.86
GHz

17W

1066

6MB

$316

SL9300

1.60
GHz

17W

1066

6MB

$284

SU9400

1.40
GHz

10W

800

3MB

$289

SU9300

1.20
GHz

10W

800

3MB

$262

U3300

1.20
GHz

5.5W

800

3MB

$262

The processors above are lumped into
Intel's
"Performance Small Form Factor" segment and feature a TDP of 25W at
the high end for the SP9400 and continually fall until we reach rock
bottom
with the single-core U3300 which touts a TDP of 5.5W.

An Intel engineer hinted to DailyTech
that the U3300 will be reserved for the "slimmest of slim"
notebooks and tablets. By comparison, the 1.6 and 1.8 GHz processor found in the
MacBook Air has a rating of 20W TDP. The same Intel engineer,
speaking on conditions of anonymity, detailed that all of these small
form factor processors will find their way into Apple and PC mobile
products -- as
indicated by other Intel representatives in previous interviews.

On the chipset front, Intel will
launch three SKUs during
the second quarter: the GM45, GM47 and PM45. The GM45/47 will feature
Intel's
new X4500 HD integrated graphics processor which promises DX10 support,
increased battery life, integrated HDMI and DisplayPort.

The GM45/47 support 667MHz and
1066MHz FSBs, DDR2/DDR3
memory, and the ICH9M/ICH9M-Enhanced south bridges. The two parts only
differ
in the clock speed for the graphics core -- the GM45 features a 533 MHz
core
clock while the GM47 has a faster 640 MHz core clock.

Intel marketing materials claim GM47
performs twice as high on 3DMark as GM965 found in the current Santa
Rosa chipsets.

The PM45 supports all the features of
the two aforementioned
chipsets minus the integrated graphics core. The PM45 thus will be used
with
integrated mobile graphics solutions from ATI and NVIDIA.

While the processors and new chipsets
are important, we must
also take a look at Intel's supporting cast of characters with the
Centrino 2
platform. Centrino 2 notebooks will be available with 2GB of Turbo
Memory -- Windows
Vista ReadyDrive and ReadyBoost compliant.

Networking upgrades are plentiful for
the Centrino 2 launch.
Intel will launch the 82567LM and 82567LF Gigabit Ethernet controllers
for LAN
connectivity. Customers will also have a choice of two Shirley
Peak-based WLAN controllers with the Intel WiFi Link
5100/5300. Finally, Intel will offer two WiMAX/WiFi controllers in the
form of
the Intel WiMAX/WiFi Link 5150/5350.

Apple yesterday launched revised
MacBook and MacBook Pro notebooks that incorporate
Intel’s first run of Penryn
processors. Apple insiders confirmed the company will
refresh its notebook lineups in June, which comes as no surprise since
all Centrino partners indicated they will announce notebooks based on
the new Montevina Centrino 2.

Don't expect just the same old
notebooks from January this June. The upcoming
second-generation Penryn mobile processors
require the new Socket B motherboards. However, since the
thermal envelopes will not change between Penryn revisions
vendors will be able to keep the existing form factors, like that found
on the
ultra-compact Lenovo X300, with minimal changes to the
motherboard design.

Tick-tock. Montevina will get an
overhaul in June 2009.

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